LABOR LAUNCHES LOCAL GOTV EFFORTS: With less than five weeks until voters hit the polls for the September Primary Election –scheduled Tuesday, September 14 – the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO will kick off a major Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign this Saturday to help elect labor-endorsed candidates in the metro-area. “Union members have a history of high voter participation,” says Metropolitan Washington Council President Jos Williams. “In an election of this kind, where there will be early voting, our participation is more crucial. Our members have a lot riding on this election and if we are to protect working families interests, it is essential that we vote early and participate in the Election Day activities.” Union members in DC and Maryland are encouraged to get involved with labor-to-labor efforts, including precinct walks, mailings and phone-banking where possible; please contact Alya Solomon at asolomon@dclabor.org or 202-974-8222 for DC or Rick Powell at rpowell@dclabor.org or 202-974-8154 for MD to volunteer. Click herefor details on Saturday’s GOTV efforts, and herefor the full list of labor-endorsed candidates.

LABOR ON THE MOVE:Durazo & Andrews Elected To AFL-CIO Executive Council: The AFL-CIO recently elected Maria Elena Durazo (left), Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County AFL-CIO, and James Andrews (below), President of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, to two newly-created seats on the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council. "The new members of the Executive Council represent workers in all professions across the country who are working to make their workplaces and communities better," said AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka. "I look forward to working with our new members who bring great experience, energy and new ideas to the AFL-CIO Executive Council.” Before leading the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Durazo served as President of UNITE HERE Local 11. In 1996, she became the first Latina elected to the Executive Board of HERE International and in 2004 she became Executive Vice President of UNITE HERE International. Andrews served as the North Carolina State AFL-CIO’s Secretary-Treasurer for 13 years before being elected President. Originally from Warren County, NC, he helped organize a union at his plant in Henderson before becoming Director of NC Frontlash in 1974. A Vietnam veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart, James is the first full-time elected African-American state federation president in the country’s history. The new positions were created by the AFL-CIO Executive Council “for the purpose of promoting and establishing diversity as well as giving a greater role to state and local labor leaders,” reports the AFL-CIO. – photo (left) courtesy YWCA, (right) courtesy NC AFL-CIO

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY: The Air Line Pilots Association is founded at a meeting in Chicago attended by 24 activists from across the country (1931); President Roosevelt signs amendments to the 1935 Social Security Act, broadening the program to include dependents and survivors' benefits (1939); Construction on the St. Lawrence Seaway begins. Ultimately 22,000 workers spent five years building the 2,342 mile route from the Atlantic to the northernmost part of the Great Lakes (1954); I.W. Abel (left), president of the United Steel Workers of America from 1965 to 1977, dies at age 79 (1987); More info & ammo for unionists is available online from Union Communication Services. - photo courtesy USW